Today, January 19, 2010 will go down as one of the happiest days in Michael's life; for it was today the U.S. Supreme Court denied the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Writ of Certiorari thus letting the First Circuit Court of Appeals ruling stand.
After nine long years this nightmare is finally over, and Michael is a free man. This is a case that never should have been prosecuted and it is such injustice that an innocent man had to spend nine years in the prime of his life for a crime he never committed. During this ordeal Michael even lost his two daughters which is one of the tragedies of this case; hopefully they will reconnect with Michael and find out what a loving and caring Father he is. Michael's case represents what happens when a prosecutor cares more about his conviction record that finding justice. I have spent eight years working on Michael's case. I took the case thinking he was probably guilty, but after reading and studying every piece of evidence, discovery, photos and transcripts I knew beyond any doubt whatsoever that Michael was innocent and couldn't have possibly committed this crime. The police and prosecution choose Michael as their suspect, even when they had a more viable suspect and built a story to fit their suspect. They had absolutely no physical evidence whatsoever and the prosecutor even stated this in his opening statement to the jury. What he did was build a case on circumstantial evidence based on inference after inference after inference but nothing that could tie Michael to the crime scene and show his guilt. Fortunately the Massachusetts Court of Appeals, The First Circuit Court of Appeals and the U.S. Supreme Court saw through this deception and freed Michael.
You will hear over the next few days, weeks and months some people stating the Courts got it wrong and Michael is guilty, don't believe them. These people will state their misguided opinions without having any factual knowledge of the case and without reading or studying anything about Michael's case.The courts got it right, justice was finally served, and Michael was freed because he was innocent and always has been.
I want to thank everyone for your prayers and support during the past eight years. You have no idea how much they meant to Michael and how they helped him through this terrible ordeal. And yes your prayers and support kept me going and let me work on this case even though I knew the tremendous odds of overturning a wrongful conviction. Let's pray that Michael's landmark decision will help other wrongfully convicted prisoners get their fair shot in the federal courts so they too can find justice.
God bless you,
Dick
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2 comments:
Thank God this part of Micheal's nightmare is over. Nine years ago, when I spoke with his mother after having talked to my friend Mary Thibedeaux, I positively knew Michael was an innocent man. Having started the website for his freedom, having it and the case picked up by Dick a yea later, and so diligently and constantly worked on by him over all these years, I am so very grateful to wake up this morning and see that this man is finally free. Perhaps now, prosecuters will consider the facts of the case and do something about the man who really did beat Ms kopkne nearly to death. That would be true justice.
Congratulations Dick. I admit that I lost hope that Michael would ever be exonerated. I'm glad I was proven wrong.
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